Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayers said NSW is set for a tourist boon, with a record $176 million allocated to tourism and major events in the NSW 2015-16 Budget.

"This Budget secures the continued delivery of new initiatives which have seen NSW lead Australia in visitor numbers, visitor nights and visitor expenditure, and will enable us to deliver new events and sustained growth in the years to come." Mr Ayers said.

"The NSW Government's tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, will administer the $176 million in 2015-16 to support tourism, major events and business events.

"This includes $93 million to secure major arts, entertainment and sports events and $51 million to grow tourism across the State", he said.

.."The additional funding will also see Regional NSW benefit from an additional $40 million over four years to grow tourism as well as $9 million to target overseas visitors from the priority international markets identified in the Visitor Economy Industry Action Plan….

.."This budget uplift increases the State's ability to deliver innovative tourism promotions and secure world class events for NSW to drive results that contribute to the Government's goal of doubling overnight visitor expenditure in NSW by 2020," Mr Ayers said.